The Portland daily press., 1887-01-15
SANITARY MATTERS.
The Annual Report OF the State
Board of Heath.
important Suggestions Made Con-
corning the Health Laws OF
Maine.

| may lueem necessary. Ihat we might 90
this part of our duty in such a way as would
be for the best interests Of the State, care
full and extended study has been made Of the
public health laws of the other States and Of
other countries, and of the working Of those
laws, particularly Of those Of the English
speaking peoples. As the result Of this ex-
animation and Of several meetings Of the
board, which we're devoted almost wholly TO
this single topic, the draft Of bill entitled
IAN Act to establish Local Boards Of Health
and to protect the People of this State from
Contagious Diseases" is presented.
Our provisions for local sanitary govern
ment form an anomaly among the other
statutory acts for the same purpose.
| A town at its annual meeting may choose a
| health committee Of not less than three nor more
than nine, or one person TO be health officer;
who at the expense OF their town shall remove all
Judgment endsngers the lie Or health Of any In
haDltant; and may require the owner or occupant,
wnen lney think necessary, to remove OF dscon-
tnue any drain or any other source Of filth.
1t Is optional with the towns TO choose
either health committee or a health officer,
and their specified duties are Identical and
very limited, being, in fact, confined to the
| removal Of filth, or in other words restricted
to the duties Of the scayenger. This assign
| officer Is unique and not to be found else
| where in the United States. Usually the
| health officer Is the executive officer Of the
local sanitary authority, performing his
local board; in some Of the States being him
self member Of the board and in others
not. In either case the full board c0nsti-
tutes board Of appeal from the acts and
decisions OF the health officer and exercises
restraining influence over any possible
vagaries Of that official
II any town, at its annual meeting omits to
choose such committee or officer, the municipal
onicers shall be health committee and have all
lhe powers and perform all their duties.
a, town may choose a board Of health Of not less
than three nor more than nine persons, who shall
duties, restrictions liabilities and penalties OF the
municipal offeers, and Of the health committee or
officer.
Thus 1t may be noticed that multiplicity
OF choices Is open to the t0wns-a health
committee, health officer, the municipal
ofhcers as an ex-0ffici0 health committee, or
board OF health. This abundance OF re-
sources, as the result of legislation at vari-
GUS times, has been source Of perplexity
and misunderstanding for the towns. The
distinction between the duties and powers Of
the health committee or health officer and
the board of health has not usually been
Kept In view and the one or the other has
been chosen, according as the ruling spirit
OF the town meeting took fancy to the one
OF the other OF what very often have been
considered as elective synonymes. Whether
the one or the other De chosen Is very far
from being question of no moment. The
powers and duties of the board of health
are far more ample than those Of the health
committee Within the jurisdiction Of the
former fall score or more OF questions OF
the greatest Importance in the preventing or
staying OF diseases, particularly the contag-
ious. diseases, which the health committee
can have nothing to do with.
The terms health committee and health
Oficer as defined in our law, are useless, and
such officers, with their present limitations
Oh functions. should be abolished, and the
health authority inhere in the health board
or In the municipal officers as an ex-OficiO
board. 1t Is generally admitted, however,
that better work and better results may be
secured =, with an independent board
than with an ex-officio board and In sew
eral instances States have enacted that in no
case shall any member Of the board be con-
nected with the municipal government
1t Is important that the health officials
should be persons who are interested in sani-
airy work. No part Of local government is
more important than the sanitary manage
ment OF the town, and unless the board to
whom the town intrusts the supervision OF
its health interests is alive to the value of
such work, but little will be done. The NUM-
| cipal officers are usually meni who have been
chosen for their qualifications In other direc-
| tiOns, rather than for their fitness as custO-
dians of the public health consequently they
do their work In those directions In which
| they feel assured they are most competent
| 20 act, regarding their ex-officio position as
health officials when the force Of crcumstan-
ces throws 1t upon their attention, as only a
troublesome deviation from their legitimate
| sphere. To have t0lerably good work done
Is essential that the board be acquainted
| with the modern methods Of dealing with
| the many questions which are now coming
| up for the consideration Of such bodies, for
instance, mouse drainage, whether In the
| cu0ntry or IN the city economical and effic-
| lent ventilation, particularly Of dwellings
| and sehoOl-hOuses, water supply and the
| most frequent source and dangers of its pol
| luton; the peculiaritles OF the cOntagiOn of
| our prevailing infectious diseases and the
| proper methods to be employed for the des-
truction Of these contagious principles; the
| methods OF managing endemic and epidemic
diseases and especially the prompt care Of
the primary cases, thereby avoiding the oc-
| currence Of the epidemic. That these and
| the many other vital questions, some or all
/ OF which are always before every cOmmuni-
| ty, great or small, for solution, shall receive
| hitting treatment, 1t Is better that boards Of
nealtn nave. when possible, at least one
| physician on the board. and that the term Of
office OF the members be for more than sin
gle year.
AS regards the question of election Of the
board by the town or its appointment by the
municipal officers, the practice in nearly all
the States is to have 1t appointed by the mu-
nicipal officers. The advantages are vastly
in favor Of this latter method, in that polit-
ical partizanship Is to considerable extent
| eliminated from the choice and In that wise
discrimination is more likely to be exercised
| in the selection.
II we in this State are to have decent local
sanitary government, such as obtains In many
Of our neighboring States, and such protec-
| tion to life and health as the State owes to
her people, and such as our summer visitors
| have a right TO expect, we must have a per-
manent sanitary organization In every town.
This Is Indispensable. No health body or
/ ganiZed in the face Of an impending epidemic
or in its midst can COPE successfully with
/ such danger, to say nothing of the more
| important work of staying the hand of the
| destroyer which comes in the shape Of those
indigenous diseases, as we might term them,
| which are always within our borders.
/ Our law dealing with the matter Of conta-
/ gious diseases has few good features too
| valuable to be lost in any future attempts in
| the direction of the amendment or codIfca-
| tlon Of our sanitary legislation; but most Of
/ 1t, as has been remarked, is better adapted
to the public needs and to ARCHAEOLOGICAL
conditions as they existed many years ago
i rather than to our present wants and to tine
present phases OF diseases. We have pro-
| visions for the issuing Of writ for the pur-
pose OF eiecting an infected tramp from our
| State in a neighb0rly way bach again into
the state whence he came, and II our neigh
boring commonwealth have similar legal
provision, everything would be complete
| whereby to give the citizens OF the two States
the. full benefit OF this infected shuttle-
| cock. We have also provisions for
the securing Of infected persons and
| goods and the care Of them, but we have no
legislative declaration Of what diseases shall
be deemed contagious so that there may be
no doubt or hesitation with health officials
| IN doing their duty. Neither have we anv
distinct legislative provisions for the dis
Injection OF persons, rooms, clothing and
0ther things which have been subjected to
the Infection Of dangerous contagious
diseases, a matter Of prime importance
without which there can never be any as
surance that focus Of infection win be
stamped out or destroyed. Nor have we any
sufficient statutory law restricting cOmmuni-
cation with the Sick nor forbidding the
removal OF persons and clothing and things
from one house to another, unless permis-
sion be granted by the board Of health or
physician; nor regulating the behavior OF
nurses and other attendants IN view Of lessen
ing the danger Of spreading these diseases 4;
nor any statutory guaranty that con-
valescents may not spread such diseases at
will before the dangerous period has passed
There ought TO be strict prohibition of
public funerals of those who have died Of
certain dangerous contagious diseases, or at
least the statutes should distinctly state that
boards Of health have power TO specify from
what diseases deaths shall not be followed
by public funeral. In want Of such a law
strictly enforced, malignant outbreak OF